Microsoft's Windows App Fest sets a Guinness World Record

Bengaluru, 22nd September – After an 18-hour coding session and a little over 2500 developers registered, Microsoft's App Fest at Bangalore has created a Guinness World Record.

Windows App Fest, Microsoft’s 18 hour nonstop marathon coding festival held at Karnataka Trade Promotion Organization (KTPO) in Bengaluru, registered itself into the Guinness Book of World Records for the maximum number of developers coding for a single event at a common location. The total number of coders was logged at 2567 by the Guinness officials present at the venue. The initial number of developers expected by Microsoft India at the beginning of the Windows App fest was around 3500.

While a major chunk of the participants consisted of students from science and engineering background, the app fest also saw professional developers and teams from app development companies taking part in the event. Microsoft also flew in some of their best tech teams to work alongside the participants to help the participants convert their ideas into final applications.

Addressing the media during the inaugural press briefing of the fest, Bhaskar Pramanik, Chairman, Microsoft India said, “The apps that we will be building at the Windows App Fest will contribute significantly to the success of the global launch of Windows 8 in October”. Speaking on sheer size of the developer community in India, Pramanik said, “The hard work and skills of Indian app developers have shaped the software trends across the world; it is for this reason that India is the only country in the world where Microsoft is holding an event of this scale as a ramp-up for Windows 8 launch.”

We spoke to a number of participants, asking them about their thoughts on the app development for Windows 8 platform, “Windows 8 Apps allows numerous opportunities for individual developers to make it big on the global stage; developers now have the potential of earning big money and pursue rewarding careers in the app development space”, says Satish, an engineering student with a passion for app development on multiple platforms.